CPD’s recently released report, Big Society: How the UK Government is Dismantling the State and What it Means for Australia outlined the ways in which David Cameron’s Big Society policy has crippled certain state funded services in the UK. The policy has become a household term in the UK, and is debated and criticised among many in mainstream media, yet here in … more
Monthly Archives:: February 2012
Mark Bahnisch | Behind the seams: Bob Katter & Larissa Waters sing from same song sheet
An unlikely alliance has come to the fore in the debate surrounding Coal Seam Gas exploration in Queensland. CPD fellow Mark Bahnisch, along with FAQ Research, interview Bob Katter MP, federal Member for Kennedy and leader of Katter’s Australian Party and Queensland Greens Senator Larissa Waters at the February 20 Jondaryan Big Day Out protest against coal seam gas and coal mining on prime agricultural land. The … more
Chris Bonnor & Jane Caro | Chance to put money where it will make a difference
In light of the Gonski Report, Chris Bonnor and Jane Caro discuss some of the report’s findings and recommendations and the state of the education system in Australia today. “If someone had predicted 30 years ago that education funding and policy decisions made then would lead to an Australia where even Labor politicians felt that they had to pay a … more
Chris Bonnor | Gonski’s In. It’s Time To Act
There’s remarkable consensus that the Gonski recommendations are spot on. The danger? That Labor will stall too long before implementing them, writes Chris Bonnor. I’m reliably informed that whenever you talk to Labor politicians about school funding they start to twitch, and mumble “Mark Latham hit list”. Helped along by numerous commentators they are spooked by the 2004 election and … more
Chris Bonnor | What Gonski means for students and teachers with Chris Bonnor from the CPD
Chris Bonnor, former school principal and Fellow of the Centre for Policy Development, recently appeared on Adelaide Radio’s Your Rights at Night program to discuss the findings of the Gonski Review and what it means for the Australian school system and future education funding. Listen to the full interview with Adelaide Radio’s Your Rights at Night here. Change can happen … more
Melissa Sweet | Gonski review has a lot to teach the health system: Consumers Health Forum
Melissa Sweet considers the recommendations of the Gonski Report in terms of current approached to, and funding of, healthcare. She sites a statement made by Carol Bennett, CEO of the Consumers Health Forum, who highlights the aspects of the report which are relevant to Australia’s current healthcare crisis. “The cry of “nanny state” is often used to oppose public health … more
Ian McAuley | Means testing passes but do we even need health insurance?
Ian McAuley discusses the real value of private health insurance and the possibility of a fairer health care system. Read the full article published by The Conversation here “When the government finally succeeded in its third attempt to remove the 30% subsidy for high-income earners holding private health insurance, the opposition’s response was a promise to restore it should the coalition be voted … more
Ben Eltham | Labor In Freefall As Rudd Challenges
Kevin Rudd may be popular with the electorate but his colleagues loathe him. This dilemma is driving a wedge through the ALP and the damage will be felt for a generation, says Ben Eltham. Poor old Labor. The grand old party of the Australian political system — one of the oldest working class political parties in the world, in fact … more
Big Society | How the UK Government is Dismantling the State and What it Means for Australia
DOWNLOAD James Whelan’s essay here “Bush declared war on terror, Blair declared war on crime and it’s like Cameron has declared war on the public sector.” The first instalment in CPD’s report on the ‘Big Society in Australia’, How the UK Government is Dismantling the State and what it means for Australia is a startling insight into David Cameron’s 2010 promise to “redefine … more